William Wilton (9 June 1865 – 2 May 1920) was a Scottish football player, administrator and manager. He was the first manager of

Rangers Football Club Rangers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the Govan district of Glasgow which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Although not its official name, it is often referred to as Glasgow Rangers outside Scotland. The fou ...

, serving in that position from 1899 until his death in 1920, and leading Rangers to nine major trophies. He had previously served as Rangers' match secretary to the reserve and first teams.

Early life

William Wilton was born at Blyth's Land on Nelson Street in Largs,

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

on 9 June 1865, the son of James Wilton, a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

from the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

, and Janet Smith, a weaver from Paisley. Wilton grew up in Largs and the

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

area of Glasgow, and worked in Glasgow as a mercantile clerk with a sugar broker and then a sugar refining machinery manufacturer.

Career

Wilton joined the club in September 1883 as a player but never progressed beyond the second string eleven. He was soon appointed secretary to the club's youth team and reserve side. He was also on the special committee that oversaw the club's move from Kinning Park to the first Ibrox ground in 1887. Wilton became match secretary of the first team in 1889, succeeding

James Gossland James Gossland (born 6 September 1860 in Glasgow) was a Scottish footballer who played for Dennistoun, Alexandra Athletic, Rangers and the Scotland national team. After spells at Dennistoun and Alexandra Athletic, the latter for whom he als ...

. The club shared the inaugural Scottish League title in 1891. Wilton had been appointed as the league's first treasurer at the start of the season. In his decade as match secretary for the first team, the club won two

Scottish league championships The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

in 1891 and 1899, as well as three Scottish Cups in 1894, 1897 and 1898. He also won four Glasgow Cups in 1893, 1894, 1897 and 1898, and a

Glasgow Merchants Charity Cup The Glasgow Merchants' Charity Cup was a knockout football tournament open to teams from in and around Glasgow and later on in the tournament's history, teams from outwith Glasgow. Invitations were made and sent out by the Glasgow Charity Cup ...

in 1897. Rangers had achieved the first ever 100% league record, winning all 18 games and scoring 79 goals in 1898–99; to date no team has achieved the same, although several teams have gone unbeaten in a league season since. When the club became a limited company in 1899, Wilton was chosen as manager. Under his stewardship as manager, Rangers won eight league championships and another Scottish Cup, nine Glasgow Cups and seven Charity Cups. He also guided the club's move to the second (extant) Ibrox Park in 1899 and its response to the disaster at that venue three years later. In his final season as manager the club won its tenth league championship. Wilton died in a boating accident in May 1920.Yachting accident: Rangers club secretary drowned
Glasgow Herald, 3 May 1920 He was Rangers manager in 881 matches (not including his earlier spell as secretary), of which they won 553.Rangers manager William Wilton
FitbaStats

Managerial statistics

Honours

Rangers * Scottish League (8): 1899–1900; 1900–01; 1910–11; 1911–12; 1912–13; 1917–1918; 1919–20 * Scottish Cup: 1902–03

References

External links

Manager profile
at Rangers.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilton, William 1865 births 1920 deaths Rangers F.C. managers Rangers F.C. players Scottish football managers Deaths by drowning in the United Kingdom Accidental deaths in Scotland People from Largs Scottish Football League managers Scottish Football League Footballers from North Ayrshire Association footballers not categorized by position Scottish footballers